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PIONEERING in-wheel electric motor technology is to due to enter production later this year.

The Protean Drive is set to revolutionise the electric car industry, by saving space and weight in the design.

The system, which has been in development for the past eight years, produces 109bhp and 1250Nm, meaning a two-wheel-drive electric vehicle could produce power and torque of up to 214bhp and 2500Nm.

The new innovative motor design also eliminates the need for transmissions and driveshafts, which frees up space in the centre of the car. Cabling is also minimised.

Protean’s Gabriel Donaldson has claimed it can be used for two-wheel-drive EVs, to hybridise an existing vehicle or to convert a two-wheel-drive vehicle to four-wheel drive.

He added that a pair of motors, at 72kg, weighs 30kg less than standard electric drivetrains.

The Protean Drive can be produced to fit wheel sizes from 14in to more than 20in. It is currently in pre-production and will be built in China, initially at the rate of five to ten units a week.

However the technology is not cheap. Despite the benefits that come with it, the Drive is priced higher than a conventional electric motor, but Donaldson says work is being done to lower costs as much as possible.